PUNTERS are bracing themselves for a second consecutive weekend of no jumps action with snow and ice set to decimate cards once more.
Haydock – where the going is described as ‘frozen’ – has called an inspection for Thursday ahead of their Saturday meeting.
Ascot’s two-day Christmas meeting looks like it will be abandoned due to the freezing cold blast
Newcastle – who were forced to axe both meetings on the all weather last weekend – also has a frozen racetrack.
Temperatures are not set to rise until Sunday – when punters think Ascot should stage the best of their two-day Christmas meeting, instead of the scheduled Friday and Saturday.
Over in Ireland, the cold snap looks like it will claim fixtures at Naas, Fairyhouse and Thurles.
But Navan on Sunday looks the best chance of some action on the turf.
Already punters were robbed of the chance to see Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs return to action last weekend.
The rescheduled John Durkan is set to take place at Punchestown on Monday.
In Britain, Catterick and Wincanton have been abandoned today and Newbury’s jumps action tomorrow is off.
Exeter on Thursday is off but Ffos Las may go ahead.
Below-zero temperatures over the next few days mean Ascot and Uttoxeter are at risk of being off on Friday.
And with the mercury barely rising above freezing at any point into Saturday, it means tracks may run out of time to thaw before racing.
Number-crunchers at Sporting Index predict ten of the 19 jumps meetings left before Christmas to be cancelled.
Neville Burdock, Head of Sportsbook at Sporting Index, said: “The icy weather conditions look set to endure for the foreseeable future, meaning our predictions don’t look good for National Hunt fans.
“We think ten more meetings are expected to fail to beat the weather in the run up to Christmas.”
